Jewish man stabbed in NYC by attacker screaming 'Free Palestine': report

A Jewish man was stabbed in New York City's Crown Heights neighborhood early Saturday morning by an assailant who reportedly shouted "Free Palestine" as well as antisemitic slurs. 

The attack occurred near the Chabad-Lubavitch Headquarters around 2 am, according to Yaccov Behrman, a spokesman for Chabad-Lubavitch. The suspect, identified as 22-year-old Vincent Sumpter, allegedly approached the victim and, after a brief exchange, shouted “Free Palestine” and "Do you want to die?" before slashing the man in the stomach. The victim was hospitalized but is expected to recover.

Community members quickly pursued and detained the suspect until police arrived and arrested him. Sumpter has been charged with assault and criminal possession of a weapon. One witness who saw the stabbing occur said the suspect was “looking for trouble.” 

“He was provoking the Jews walking, yelling antisemitic slurs and ‘Free Palestine’ and stuff like that and they ignored him and he was looking for other people — he was looking for trouble basically — and he continued harassing other people passing by and physically threatened another group, yelling ‘You wanna die’ and ‘Free Palestine,’” the witness explained.

Sumpter reportedly walked up to a group of Jewish men who had just finished Shabbat dinner and were walking outside. As he approached them and began yelling, the men were unable to fully understand what he was saying because English is not their first language.

“They thought he was just joking. They didn’t think he was malicious. They weren’t expecting it,” said Elchonon Schagalov, who heard the attack unfold according to the New York Post.

Mark Treyger, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, condemned the attack as part of a broader, dangerous trend of rising antisemitism. Treyger said the attack was an “abhorrent and abominable attack on a young Jewish person in Brooklyn,” that cannot be seen as an isolated incident.

“This is a dangerous escalation of the current climate we are in and it should outrage every New Yorker because it is an attack on every New Yorker,” Treyger said on X. “We need ACCOUNTABILITY and ACTION NOW!”